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Lining Up for McJobs

Written by: Michael Tunstill

Article Overview: Fast food franchises are often criticized for offering demeaning dead-end jobs with low wages. But is a "McJob" really something to be sneered at?

Lining Up for McJobs

Who's for a McJob?

Lots of people it seems. When the current economic crisis first started rearing its ugly head over a year ago, many fast food franchises noticed business was actually picking up as diners "downsized" their eating habits. This meant that many existing outlets needed to put on more staff and it also caused a surge in new franchised fast food outlets opening up.

There have been some newspaper articles about how it was tougher for students to get jobs as places like McDonald's were snapping up the recently retrenched, or the early retirees who were happy to be re-employed.

It wouldn't surprise me if more than a few family homes were saved from the repo man just because there were jobs available in the fast food franchise business.

So is a McJob really a McJob? The term is one of the more demeaning ones you'll come across and ranks right down there with "burger flipper" in its offensiveness.

To be sure often a McJob is the job-you-have-while-looking-for-a-job and they are frequently described as minimum wage dead-end jobs, but don't be too dismissive, some very impressive people have worked at McDonalds for at least a while. Here are some: Robert Cornog, retired CEO of Snap-On Tools, Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, Carl Lewis, Olympic gold medalist, Jay Leno, "Tonight Show" host.

This doesn't counter the charge that Mcjobs are dead-end jobs. These people may have worked there for a while, but then left to do other things and eventually shine. But in fact 1,200 McDonald's restaurant owners began their careers as crew members as did 20 of McDonald's 50 top worldwide managers.

A good career to follow is that of Charlie Bell, who began wiping down tables at a McDonald's in a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Right from the beginning he loved working there and said "It was the kind of place where, if you worked hard, it didn't matter what your background was, you could get ahead."

They were prophetic words for he eventually became the chief executive of the company's worldwide operation. And to counter the often made claim that the franchise model is too rigid and resistant to change, he brought in some real changes too. He introduced the slightly more upscale McCafe in the 1990s which other fast food franchises are only now starting to copy. He also had to deal with the bad publicity from the movie "Super Size Me" and some court cases in which people claimed that dining at the hamburger franchise made them obese. He did so by intoducing healthier menu options such as fruit juice and apple slices and by providing nutritional information which encouraged a balanced diet.

So next time you hear someone derisively referring to McJobs, please don't automatically nod your head in agreement. Any honest work is honourable and almost any job can be as challenging and rewarding as you choose to make it.

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Article Tags: franchise, jobs, McDonalds, McJobs



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